Entertainment

Celebrities: Justin Bieber calls for 'legislation' in wake of paparazzo's death

By Ann Tatko-PetersonContra Costa Times

Posted:
01/02/2013 05:16:05 PM PST

Updated:
01/02/2013 05:30:43 PM PST

A celebrity photographer was struck and killed by a car Tuesday evening after trying to snap photos of singer Justin Bieber's Ferrari in Los Angeles.

Bieber wasn't in the car, which California Highway Patrol had pulled over for speeding on Interstate 405, Los Angeles Police Department Officer Cleon Joseph told Reuters. The photographer, whom TMZ identified as 29-year-old Chris Guerra, was ordered twice to return to his car. Guerra was hit by an oncoming car while trying to cross back over four lanes of traffic, Joseph said.

Bieber released a statement saying he hoped the incident "will finally inspire meaningful legislation and whatever other necessary steps to protect the lives and safety of celebrities, police officers, innocent public bystanders and the photographers themselves."

A roadside memorial for a paparazzo, who was killed by a car while darting across a street after taking pictures of Justin Bieber's Ferrari, is seen near the 405 Freeway in Los Angeles, Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2013. A paparazzo was struck and killed by a car while darting across a street after taking pictures of Justin Bieber's Ferrari when it was pulled over along a freeway in Los Angeles, police said Wednesday. (Jae C. Hong/AP Photo)

TMZ reported that rapper Lil Twist was driving Bieber's Ferrari at the time of the accident.

TMZ also reported that Guerra had called a fellow photographer earlier in the evening to say he saw Bieber smoking marijuana while driving.

A rep for Bieber did not respond to that allegation, but did say in a statement, "It's really sad that people are trying to push a story without the facts so soon after this tragic accident. Justin was not present or involved in this incident and the focus should remain on honoring the memory of the victim."

Honoring the victim's memory wasn't exactly what singer/actress Miley Cyrus had in mind when she unleashed a series of blistering tweets after news of the accident.

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"Paparazzi are dangerous! Wasn't Princess Di enough of a wake up call?!" she wrote. "It is unfair for anyone to put this on to Justin's conscious as well! This was bound to happen! Your mom teaches u when your a child not to play in the street!"

Julianne Hough talks about abuse as child

Julianne Hough reveals in the February issue of Cosmopolitan that she was abused as a child.

The abuse started when she was 10, after her parents divorced and she moved from Utah to London with her brother Derek to study dance at Italia Conti Academy of the Arts.

"While I was in London, I was abused, mentally, physically, everything," she told the magazine. "I was 10 years old looking like I was 28, being a very sensual dancer. I was a tormented little kid who had to put on this sexy facade because that was my job and my life. But my heart was the same, and I was this innocent little girl. I wanted so much love."

Hough, 24, declined to identify her abuser or abusers. "I'm a very forgiving person, and I don't want to hurt anybody. What's past is past."

The seemingly anti-gay marriage rant she recently posted on her Instagram account was "taken far out of context," according to a statement released by her reps.

Controversy started flying fast and furious when the 28-year-old singer wrote on Instagram (via goodasyou.org): "I Rise ABOVE IT ALL!!! THE WORLD IS GONE MAD. KIDS, THE GOVERNMENT THE church House ... Everybody Trying!!!!!!! Its a lot that going on that the Bible speaks about we should Not be doing. Weed legal in some places, Gay Marriage Legal BUT YET IM JUDGED!!! I'm not doing Nothing for you ... My Life!!!!"

That post opened a floodgate of angry comments.

Her reps quickly released a statement, saying, "Ms. Barrino is not now, nor has she ever been an opponent of the LGBT community. She has supported and performed at numerous events that are sponsored by the LGBT community. Whether it's through a live performance or placement on social media, Ms. Barrino uses every opportunity to reach out and connect with her fans, all of her fans."

Which still raises the question: What did she really mean in her post?

Barrino didn't provide much clarity in a later post, except to make it clear she doesn't want to alienate a big part of her fan base.

"It has been brought to my attention that something I said was taken out of context," she wrote. "I, Fantasia Monique Barrino, don't judge anyone because I don't want to be judged. The gay community is one of my largest supporters. I support the gay community as they support me. Bloggers please stop misrepresenting the facts."

Sofia Vergara in New Year's Eve scuffle

Someone should have told Sofia Vergara that tossing her fiance Nick Loeb and ex-boyfriend Chris Paciello in the same room on New Year's Eve is like asking to detonate the fireworks early.

Paciello was hosting the "Modern Family" actress and her fiancé in the VIP section of Miami's Story when Loeb and Vergara got into a cursing showdown, prompting a pushing-and-shoving match with someone at a nearby table. A witness told the New York Post, "Sofia stepped in to try to calm the situation, but somehow she ended up getting pushed and shoved also. Her strapless dress was torn or pulled down in the melee, exposing her cleavage in front of other people."

That's the real shame, seeing a Michelle Mason-designed dress abused in such a manner.

Vergara's 20-year-old son, Manolo, was reportedly so offended that he left the club. Apparently, he knew good ol' Mom could fend for herself.

Security tossed Loeb from the club, with Vergara leaving close behind of her own free will. The couple reportedly kissed and made up outside the club, then returned to their hotel, The Delano, for a private party to ring in the new year.

Vergara and Loeb began dating in February 2010 and got engaged in July after a brief separation two months earlier.

Kris Allen breaks wrist, reveals wife's pregnancy

Season 8 "American Idol" winner Kris Allen broke his right wrist in a head-on car collision Tuesday and then dropped the news that he and wife Katy are expecting a baby.

Allen's mom, Kimberly, tweeted a picture of her son in the hospital and noted that he would have surgery Wednesday. She also wrote how granddog Zorro was fine — "Very shook up, but not injured."

She left the bigger news to her son, who tweeted hours later: "Thank you, @Ford, for equipping me with a car that kept my whole family and the little one we have on the way safe ... Yes, I got in a really bad wreck tonight, and yes, I'm having a lil baby."

And for those faithful Kris Allen fans who are alarmed by the broken wrist, have no fear. Allen assures that is "Out Alive tour is still on"

E! preps for baby Kardashian-West

Still six months to go until the birth of Kim Kardashian and Kanye West's bundle of joy, but already E! network execs are rubbing their hands in giddy anticipation.

"Kim and Kanye are an incredibly dynamic couple, and their baby news is just so exciting," network president Suzanne Kolb said in a statement to the Hollywood Reporter.

In other words, bring on the ratings boost.

"Like so many Kardashian fans, we love it when this close-knit family gets even bigger," Kolb added.

Exploitation equals money, right?

"We look forward to sharing the joy as they prepare for more diapers, more bottle and without a doubt, more fabulous baby wear."

Ah yes, you can never have too much of the Kardashians.

Hollywood Reporter also reports that the network "will continue to cover all aspects of Kim's life as it always has."

Does that mean cameras in the delivery room?

West announced Kardashian's pregnancy during his concert on Dec. 30. The couple has dated publicly since April, six months after Kardashian split from husband Kris Humphries. The Kardashian-Humphries divorce is still pending.

Today's history

Today is Thursday, Jan. 3, the third day of 2013. There are 362 days left in the year.

1521: Martin Luther was excommunicated from the Roman Catholic Church by Pope Leo X.

1777: Gen. George Washington's army routed the British in the Battle of Princeton, N.J.

1861: More than two weeks before Georgia seceded from the Union, the state militia seized Fort Pulaski at the order of Gov. Joseph E. Brown. The Delaware House and Senate voted to oppose secession from the Union.

1868: The Meiji Restoration re-established the authority of Japan's emperor and heralded the fall of the military rulers known as shoguns.

1911: The first postal savings banks were opened by the U.S. Post Office. (The banks were abolished in 1966.)

1938: The March of Dimes campaign to fight polio was established by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who himself had been afflicted with the crippling disease.

1949: In a pair of rulings, the U.S. Supreme Court said that states had the right to ban closed shops.

1959: Alaska became the 49th state as President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed a proclamation.

1961: President Dwight D. Eisenhower announced the United States was formally terminating diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba.

1967: Jack Ruby, the man who shot and killed accused presidential assassin Lee Harvey Oswald, died in a Dallas hospital.

1980: Conservationist Joy Adamson, author of "Born Free," was killed in northern Kenya by a former employee.

1990: Ousted Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega surrendered to U.S. forces, 10 days after taking refuge in the Vatican's diplomatic mission.

1993: President George H.W. Bush and Russian President Boris Yeltsin signed the START II missile-reduction treaty in Moscow. (However, the agreement ultimately fell apart.)

2003: Taking a brief timeout from his two-week vacation, President George W. Bush visited Fort Hood in Texas, where he rallied Army troops as the nation faced the prospect of war with Iraq. David Westerfield, the man who'd kidnapped and murdered 7-year-old neighbor Danielle van Dam, was sentenced to death by a judge in San Diego. No. 2 Ohio State won its first championship in 34 years, beating No. 1 Miami 31-24 in the Fiesta Bowl.

2008: Sen. Barack Obama won Democratic caucuses in Iowa, while Mike Huckabee won Republican caucuses. After nearly 27 years in prison, Texas inmate Charles Chatman was set free by a judge because of new DNA evidence showing he'd been wrongly convicted of rape. Pop star Britney Spears was hospitalized after a child custody dispute with ex-husband Kevin Federline resulted in an hours-long standoff with police. The No. 8 Kansas Jayhawks won the Orange Bowl by defeating No. 5 Virginia Tech 24-21.

2012: The Iowa Republican Party held its caucuses; although Mitt Romney was originally considered the winner by an extremely narrow eight-vote margin, officials later said that Rick Santorum had in fact beaten Romney by 34 votes; however, the party refused to declare a winner, saying that eight precincts had never turned in certified results. In the Democratic caucuses, President Barack Obama ran unopposed.